


Crystalline

by occultnix



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Magic, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, segments of story and summaries i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultnix/pseuds/occultnix
Summary: Both away from their respective factions, the barbarian warrior/guardsman Reyes and wandering Nordic shaman Morrison are forced into an unexpected alliance when the surrounding wildlife begins to exhibit signs of corruption. Working together, the two abandon their individual missions to discover the source of the corruption, with flashes of a budding romance sparking between them along the way.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20
Collections: Reaper76 Free For All Secret Santa 2019





	Crystalline

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Papallion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Papallion/gifts).



_Reyes, freshly tasked with a mission from his clan, encountered Morrison over the recently deceased body of a bison on the edges of their territory. He challenges the stranger before realizing the stranger is blind, assuming an associate to have been the murderer. Morrison steps away and reveals mutilation of the beast's neck, a blackness worming its way through the interior flesh. Despite it being very definitely dead, he can hear something moving. He threatens Morrison again, insisting to know what wizardry he's inflicted upon his clan's creatures. Morrison manages to talk him down, explaining that he encountered this on the way to the mountain to the west and he did not know it was in another clan's territory. Reyes, suspicious of him, but realizing that the mountain lies in the path to his own destination, informs the other that he'll escort him to the outskirts of their territory, though it becomes apparent fairly quickly that he intends to keep an eye on the stranger well past the edges of his territory._

_They encounter the corpses of several wolves exhibiting similar mutilation, featuring what appears to be a harder muzzle and various stages of wings. Mystified, they continue traveling, but encounter nothing else for the day, so they set up camp for the night on the edge of a large field and settle down as the sun sets._

* * *

Reyes blinked, realizing he'd been watching the flames for quite a while now. "What do they call you?"

The stranger did not answer at first, so Reyes repeated himself; "You. You have a name, yes?"

"Morrison." The man replied.

Reyes ran the name through his mind a few times. A question formed as he thought it over, and it appeared on his tongue before he could stop it. "I thought Morrigan was a woman?"

The other man laughed suddenly, a rough melodic tone that Reyes felt in his chest. Was he being mocked? His face burned as the other regained his composure.

"Nay, friend. _Morrison_ , not the Morrigan." He smiled, and it was not unkind. "Though, truth be told, you would not be the first to make such a mistake."

Reyes nodded and said nothing for a while. He sat back and exhaled, his mind insisting on running through similarities between the scant bits of knowledge he had of the mythic deity and the man in front of him. Eventually, he spoke.

"I've heard that Morrigan reads the future. Did you not say you do, as well?"

Morrison shook his head. "I did not."

"So you do not see the future, then." Reyes challenged.

The other man hesitated. "I did not say that," he stated eventually.

Reyes blew his breath out through his nose sharply. "Read my future, then," he commanded.

Morrison didn't move. He opened his mouth to say something, but Reyes spoke first.

"You're either a liar or a coward." The man bristled, and Reyes felt the corner of his mouth pull into a smirk. "If neither," he continued, "read my future and tell me whether I will be successful in my mission."

Morrison said nothing for a moment. "You're concerned about the outcome. Why?"

Reyes blinked. "Hey! No questions. Just... read it and tell me."

The other man seemed to consider that for a little longer than necessary. Eventually, he made a face, sat back and folded his arms. "You are neither my tribe, nor are you paying me. I see no incentive to attempt such a thing."

Reyes growled, his hand gripping around the hilt of his dagger. He pushed himself to his feet. "Oh, I'll _give_ you a fuckin' incentive," he growled. He made it a pace towards Morrison when the other froze and reached for his staff. For half a second, Reyes thought it was because of him. Then he heard it, too.

"...what happened to the birds?"

Morrison waved him quiet, getting to his feet deftly in the briefest of moments. His head moved as though he was scanning the horizon with his eyes, though Reyes knew that was impossible. He took a step back and reached for his sword.

A loud crack echoed through the clearing and Reyes felt his heart stop for a moment as he saw the top of a tree vanish and the surrounding trees sway to make room for it before another set of cracks and a loud thud echoed into the sky. Reyes picked up his sword and took a defensive stance, glancing at his traveling companion briefly. Morrison stood off to the side of the fire, gripping his staff with both hands and whispering something fervently.

Reyes looked back to the treeline just in time to see a pair of eyes light up in the darkness between the trunks. And then another pair of eyes. And then another and... a growl began, rumbling through the clearing and worming its way into Reyes's chest. He realized he'd frozen and shook it off, furious at himself. He was a warrior, not a peasant. He would not be intimidated by the darkness. He gripped his sword harder and let loose a guttural scream as a challenge to the thing.

The trees parted in answer to his challenge, and his confidence dropped. Some sort of bear chimera growled at him, gigantic insectoid legs hefting the body and head up to a height of at least 14 feet in the air. Reyes nearly dropped the sword throwing himself out of the way as the creature's body came crashing down at him. He hefted the sword over his head, letting another guttural shout power a swing down and angled at one of the legs. It embedded itself deep in the chitin and flesh, and stuck there. Reyes was thrown to the ground, the hilt ripped from his hands as the creature turned. He had enough time to turn, see the incoming attack, and move to avoid it as best he could before the beast came crashing down again. Getting to his feet, he looked around wildly for the other man, but was unable to spot him anywhere.

He cursed under his breath. Typical. Of course he'd vanish to safety. He dodged another giant leg swiping to knock him off his feet, and ducked beneath the maw snapping just past his head, making for his sword still embedded in the creature's leg.

As his hand gripped hold of the hilt, time seemed to slow down for a moment, and he heard whispering in his head. He turned and saw Morrison standing in the campfire, his staff held above his head. Reyes watched as Morrison turned the staff parallel to his body. The whispered chant reached a crescendo, and the staff was thrust down into the embers.

Reyes realized he was in the air again but a moment before he hit a tree heavily. He slid to the ground and coughed roughly, pushing himself to his feet before he realized the sword was back in his hand... glowing. He banished the confusion from his mind as the beast turned and raised above Morrison, now quite a distance from the fire. He shouted again, barreling at the beast from the side, his sword lifted above his shoulder, aimed for the beast's belly. There was a flash of light to his left where Morrison had been standing as the beast hit the ground. Reyes's foot caught a rock, and he used the momentum to catapult into the side of the creature's ribcage.

It howled, lighting Reyes's blood on fire. Still with a solid grip on his sword, Reyes ripped it downwards, then turned and swung it overhead at the nearest insectoid leg. With nary more than a slight cracking noise, it cut the flesh like butter.

There was a snap behind him, and the indignant roar echoing into the air was abruptly cut short. Reyes turned, and watched as the thing, now missing two and a half limbs and bleeding heavily from several wounds, toppled over and hit the ground heavily enough that he had to catch his footing. The air settled, and he took a breath, realizing he tasted blood.

Before he could say anything, the creature's body erupted, forcing Reyes to raise an arm to protect his face from the sudden rain of bits of bone and organs. The sudden noise of the eruption cascaded into what sounded like otherworldly chuckles for the briefest of moments before tumbling into cacophonous screeching. Reyes watched as winged bodies - vultures, it looked like, took to the sky and disappeared into the darkness. Squinting, he looked down at the remains of the body. Aside from most of the legs and much of the head, little remained. It looked as though all but the floor of the creature's belly had been ripped from existence. Even most of the head was missing, leaving only the lower jaw and was was once a tongue, now blackened with the same almost-crystalline substance growing over the rest of the corpse.

Reyes turned to Morrison. "What...?" He faltered, unsure what to ask. Morrison shook his head and shrugged, but said nothing. Reyes looked back at the remains of... whatever it had been accosted them; he still wasn't entirely sure. A shuffle beside him caught his attention, and he turned to see Morrison heading back to the campfire. He hefted his sword up over his shoulder and followed.

Thankfully, the fire seemed mostly intact, though most of their packs and provisions had been scattered, so the two of them spent a few minutes gathering those. Reyes stopped a few times to watch Morrison. For a blind man, there was a level of confidence in his steps and choices of movement direction that seemed unnatural. Still, most of his movements were less than perfect; reaching for the blanket roll just left of where it was at first, or taking a step up onto a small rock just to walk over it and continue on. Something about the man was... off, he decided. He went back to collecting the few things of his, which were thankfully fairly easy to locate.

Settling back down around the fire, they were silent for a while. Eventually, Reyes spoke.

"I saw you in the fire."

Morrison said nothing, nor did he move, so Reyes continued. "I heard you whispering. Some... spell, I think. Holding that staff over your head. Then you turned it and slammed the end of it down."

Morrison shook his head. "That did not happen."

Reyes considered that. "But I saw it."

Morrison nodded. "You did. And thank you for telling me so. And yet, it did not happen."

Reyes huffed. "I suppose you'll tell me next that... thing we just fought wasn't real."

Morrison shook his head, breathing in deeply. "I'm afraid it was."

"What... was that?"

Morrison considered a moment before answering. "I do not know. But it carried the same... stench. Corruption. As the other things we've encountered."

Reyes nodded, folding his arms. The bison, the wolves... and now this. The body mutilation and the black almost-crystalline structures were consistent. And, as of the wolves, physical features of other creatures. He tried to make sense of it a moment before giving up.

"You're blind... so I would be a right _fool_ to set you as lookout." He said loudly, suddenly. Morrison snorted. Reyes shrugged. "Therefore, you're lookout. I'm going to get some rest." Morrison said nothing to the contrary, so Reyes laid back. He stared at the sky for a few breaths, still trying to make sense of the day before giving up and closing his eyes. The settling numb in his veins and the slight rustle of the grass lulled him off in but a moment.

* * *

_Reyes awakens the next morning. Initially upset with Morrison for not waking him, he decides it's not worth the fight. They determine that the corpse of the creature is still present, though decomposing far more rapidly than it should before moving on. They encounter a waterfront and Reyes takes the opportunity to wash off the bloody fragments on the fight. While he bathes, Morrison asks him why he's injured. Reyes is surprised until Morrison explains that his movement has been uneven since the previous day. Reyes tries to deflect at first, but admits that something in his side has been pulling since the fight last night. Morrison offers to take care of it, and against his better judgement, Reyes agrees._

* * *

Reyes felt his face heat up as Morrison's hand settled on his shoulder, and the other hand brushed his lower spine. Suddenly furious with himself, he drowned the sensation as best as he could. Suddenly, Morrison gripped his side and there was a snap.

It didn't hurt... but the suddenness and sound surprised Reyes, and he yelped and was on his feet before he knew it. He turned, and saw Morrison, still kneeling, hands up in a placating gesture.

"What did you do!?" Reyes demanded.

"There was tightness in the muscles around your lower ribs," Morrison explained calmly, in an even voice. "I released the pressure."

Reyes reached for his side where it'd hurt, staring at Morrison. Sure enough, it wasn't sore anymore.

"...thank you." He stumbled a bit as he turned to retrieve his clothing.

"There... is more."

Reyes turned around. Morrison was still kneeling there, his hands on his knees.

"There is more," Morrison said again, "I could fix that. If you wished."

Reyes considered, the blush creeping back a bit. "No," he said abruptly, sharply. The words felt needlessly cruel, so he tried again, "...another time, perhaps"

Morrison shrugged, getting to his feet and making his way to the water's edge. Reyes watched him for a moment before shaking his head and returning to dressing again. By the time he finished and settled down, Morrison was in the water.

...without the scarf around his head, Reyes noted. _Of course_ , he thought, _it makes sense to remove that if removing your clothes. It is cloth._ Regardless, the sudden revelation that Morrison did, in fact, have eyes, though the color was faded in them, was fixating. He watched the other man bathe, transfixed between the revelation and observing his movements.

Some time later, Morrison turned and waded to the shore, somewhat unsteadily. Reyes blinked, realizing he'd been all but in a trance, his face heating up against unexpectedly. _Fool_ , he chastised himself, getting to his feet and pointedly looking away as Morrison got dressed. _You gods-damned fool_.

* * *

_The rest of the day passes without incident. That night, Reyes insists on keeping watch. His thoughts wander and he catches himself watching Morrison sleep. As if on cue, Morrison awakens, and takes his turn to keep watch. Reyes almost argues, remembering that Morrison had kept watch all night prior, but realizing he's frustrated/angry with Morrison, agrees. No solid dreams accost him, but he awakens vaguely aware of thoughts of Morrison's body and the image of Morrison's faded blue eyes locked with his._

_They encounter another set of wolves, this time with large, bushier tails, sharper teeth, and black eyes. The fight is more straightforward than the last, and Reyes gets to watch Morrison fight with an abnormal degree of aptitude, and witnesses several moments of unnatural ability. As the last of the creatures is disposed of, Reyes confronts Morrison physically, shoving him into a tree. He accuses Morrison of speaking in riddles, of creating visions of magic, of bewitching him. He calls Morrison a sorcerer, and very nearly directly blames him for the appearance of the creatures they've been encountering. Unfortunately, Morrison sees between his words and becomes enraged. He overpowers Reyes, winds up sending his sword flying, knocking him off his feet, and slams the end of his staff into Reyes's chest, blanketing him in an unseen force, immobilizing him._

_Morrison accuses Reyes of being a hotheaded fool, of being all too wrapped up in his own pride to bother trusting his traveling companion. He makes it clear that he's perfectly capable of traveling alone if need be, and tells Reyes that, if he's distrusting or wants to insist being the dunderheaded idiot he is, he can fuck off. And with that, he removes the staff, and storms off. Reyes collects his sword, stunned, and takes a moment compose himself. Confusion leads to fury again, and when the wolf corpses start moving, he rages and destroys them. It isn't until afterwards that he realizes what has happened, and attempts to inspect the remains. Unfortunately, he discovers nothing of use. Giving up, he moves on, hoping to catch up to Morrison._

_He travels all night, passing through what had once been a town at the base of the mountain. In the square lies a lot of remains. He stops to inspect, and determines that the human remains are quite decomposed, and have been here for some time. The bits he can determine as having been a deer, a fox, another bear, and some sort of unnaturally large flying insect, exhibit the same black crystalline effects as the others - a trait that doesn't appear in any of the human remains. Mystified, Reyes continues on._

_The entire next day goes uneventfully, and Reyes decides that he isn't going to find Morrison and slows down. That night, he sets up camp in a shallow cave and winds up thinking about his mission, and meditating on his role in life. He determines that he likes his role as a protector and warrior, and appreciates having a goal, but his clan has been overreaching and using his prowess to solidify their power, and he's not sure about that. As he comes to this conclusion, he becomes aware of an approaching figure, and jumps to defense, only to discover that it's Morrison._

_Morrison is standoffish, but Reyes drops his sword and begs forgiveness. As that turns into a conversation, Morrison offers a hiatus on their respective missions in exchange for combating whatever threat they've been encountering. Reyes agrees, offering a full partnership. Morrison agrees._

_The next two days pass smoothly. They go over their discoveries, and Morrison takes note of Reyes's assumption that the humans in the town weren't corrupted. Morrison reveals that it was he that'd killed the creatures, and he'd stayed that night in the town, but he hadn't checked the humans, and muses what that means. Reyes asks for truth about who or what Morrison is, and Morrison isn't quite able to give an answer. He tells Reyes that he's sometimes able to catch glimpses of the future, and has moments of being able to focus his elements through fighting and can impart that onto others, which he tells Reyes is what he did when they were facing the bear/spider chimera. Reyes is thankful for the explanation, however unhelpful, and extends an offer to protect Morrison. His offer is rebuffed, but Reyes decides he's going to anyways._

_On the way up the mountain, they encounter a warm mountain spring, and take a moment to bathe again. Morrison offers to fix Reyes's pains again, and this time, he agrees. That devolves into mocking each other, which devolves further into wrestling, winding up with the two of them breathless as the sun begins to set. They dress, and find a good camping spot for the night, and Reyes takes first watch. Morrison falls asleep on Reyes's shoulder, and stays asleep until the sun comes up, much to Reyes's satisfaction._

_The next night, determining that they'll reach the summit before the end of the next day, they set up camp again in a cave._

* * *

Morrison finished lighting the fire as Reyes secured the cave entrance. Satisfied with the fire, Morrison sat heavily, grunting as he hit the ground. Reyes turned and grinned, seeing Morrison in a fairly prone position. He gently set his sword against the cave wall, and charged at Morrison with a growl, tackling him to the ground.

What was clearly panic across Morrison's face broke into irritation the moment Reyes started laughing. He punched Reyes in the chest and heaved up, gripping Reyes's shoulder and twisting, knocking him onto his back.

"You absolute fucking child." Morrison chided, straddling him. Reyes lifted his hands, still giggling. "I yield, I yield!" Morrison relaxed, grimacing and shaking his head - just enough for Reyes to lunge forward and reverse the movement.

Morrison began assaulting Reyes, so Reyes grabbed one wrist and pushed it over Morrison's head, using his other hand to cup the man's chin and leaning into a kiss.

Morrison immediately stilled. So much so that Reyes sat back up, concerned. "You..." Morrison managed, but didn't finish his sentence.

Reyes crossed his arms, mock-annoyed. "You've been seducing me since the beginning and you're telling me you don't want this. _I_ see how it is."

"No, no," Morrison countered, "I just..." his mouth closed and opened once or twice before he found the words he was looking for. "I just... didn't know you were interested."

Reyes felt his heart jump. _You fool_ , he thought, unsure which one of them that was directed towards. He leaned back forward, setting his forearms on the ground to either side of Morrison's face. "Well, then," he murmured. "Allow me to make it _perfectly_ clear."

Morrison leaned into the kiss this time, one hand snaking up to wrap around Reyes's shoulders. When they stopped to catch their breath, Reyes leaned forward, resting his forehead against Morrison's before tipping to the side to land on his side alongside the other man. 

They lay there a moment on the dirt and stones catching their breath. After a moment, Reyes reached up, his rough thumb tracing the diagonal scars across Morrison's face. "How does a traveler with talents like yours get scars like these?" he quietly mused aloud.

Morrison chuckled, his mouth twisting into a mischievous smirk under Reyes's finger. "I cut myself shaving."

Reyes playfully punched him in the shoulder and sat back up, laughing despite himself. "Get some sleep, you charlatan."

* * *

_They trade watches partway through the night, and Reyes has strange dreams. Upon waking, he shares them with Morrison, who surprises him by finishing his sentences. Morrison muses that the likelihood that they have the same dreams is low, but raises the chance that they're incredibly close to the origin of the corruption._

_Sure enough, as they reach_ _the summit, more and more plantlife displays the same black crystalline growths as the animal remains, only appearing on dead plants. Following the clusters, they encounter a cave entrance reeking of death. Moving inside, they come across a chimera with the body and wings of a wasp, tail of a scorpion, and head of a boar. They work together to take it down, and move onward._

_At the pit of the cavern, they encounter an oasis. However, the water has turned inky, and all plant and animal life is dead and encased in black crystals, large and clustered enough to reach the cavern walls. Reyes pulls out his sword, Morrison charges their weapons, and Reyes strikes the largest crystal structure. Again and again he strikes it until the cavern shudders and the fragments rain down. As it settles, an inky blackness begins to ooze out of the remains. Morrison lays a hand on the inky crystal edge and begins murmuring what Reyes assumes is a prayer of some kind. He watches as the few animals that'd been partially exposed from the crystals suddenly come back to life for a moment, screeching in what sounds like agony, then settling into silence and stillness._

_Morrison is silent, but Reyes can see tearstains on the scarf. He escorts Morrison outside gently. Outside, after a moment, Morrison asks Reyes what he'll do. Reyes thinks for a moment. He reveals that he was supposed to do reconnaissance on a nearby clan and determine what his clan would need to do to overtake them, but when Morrison asks what the first step will be, he states that he doesn't think he will. Instead, Reyes asks Morrison what he'll do now. Morrison is silent for a second, but tells Reyes that he's been tracking something. He's not sure what or who it is, but he thinks this crystal and chimera crap is tied into it somehow, so he's going to try and use this as an angle to keep tracking it, whatever or wherever it may be. Reyes lays his hand on Morrison's shoulder and tells him that he'll have a warrior at his side, if he'd accept him. Morrison smiles and tells Reyes he'll always be welcome._

_And so they walk off into the sunset la la laaa aaand scene~_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> This month and a half has been hectic as hell and I wasn't able to get to this until last minute, so please excuse the mess! The text is little more than story chunks and fragments of an idea that came to me while working on the art, which is a little rougher than I was hoping for. I didn't have time to proofread, so I hope it follows logically and reads smoothly enough. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!


End file.
